The Beginning of the Rest of My Life 2
by leap324
Summary: This the sequel to the beginning of the rest of my life.
1. Chapter 1

This is the sequel to "The Beginning of the Rest of My Life" It starts five years after the last story leaves off.

Here is some info about the characters:

Troy and Gabriella:

Troy and Gabriella are 29 years old. They stopped doing Broadway after the twins were born because it took them away too long. Gabi still teaches Science at East High and Troy still plays in the NBA. They have three children. Rose and Zac born March 17, 2014 and Lily Maria Bolton born September 20, 2016.

Chad and Taylor:

29 like Troy and Gabi, Chad in the NBA and Taylor teaching Math at East High. They also have three kids. James born July 31, 2014, Sara born August 24, 2016, and Kim born April 3, 2017.

Sharpay and Zeke:

Sharpay and Zeke are 29 and Sharpay teaches Drama at East High while Zeke owns and works at a bakery full-time. Kids are Allison: May 15, 2016, Ryder: June 25, 2017 and Warren: September 1, 2014.

Kelsi and Jason:

Both age 29 and Kelsi teaches Music at EH and Jason is in the NBA. Kids are Alice: January 30, 2014, Emma and Clark: Feb 12, 2016.

Ryan and Heather:

Ryan owns a restaurant next to Zeke's bakery and Heather teaches English at EH and they are both 29 years old. Their children are Nancy: November 21, 2014, Luke and Hannah: October 2, 2016.

Rose, Zac, James, Warren, Alice and Nancy are starting kindergarden.

The gang hangs out at least once a week at Ryan's retaurant or Zeke's bakery.

Birthdays/Anniversaries:

Troy: October 18

Gabriella: December 16

An: July 16

Chad: February 21

Taylor: November 13

An: February 14

Zeke: January 15

Sharpay: July 2

An: April 8

Jason: February 3

Kelsi: March 7

An: September 4

Ryan: July 2

Heather: August 4

An: November 27

Do you like the idea? I need at least 5 reviews before I start the story. I also need title ideas. I will only be able to update once a week if I start this story. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: This is the first chapter of the new story. This story will be a bit different than the last, more action less thought.**

"Breakfast!" I yelled up the stairs. It was a Wednesday morning, two weeks before Rose and Zac are due to start kindergarten. I turned around and headed back to the kitchen.

Just as I was laying three plates of eggs on the table, I heard tiny little feet running down the stairs.

"Morning Mama", my three children chorused as they sat at the table.

"Morning to you too." I replied as Troy entered the kitchen, giving me a peck on the lips.

"Ew, Daddy", Lily, our three year old, complained. "Why do you have to do that?"

Lily Maria was our third and youngest child. She was the perfect mix of Troy and I, with my hair and facial features but Troy's eyes. She also had the best singing voice out of all our children, apparently inheriting both of our singing talents as well as acting talents. She loves being in front of a crowd; that's why I enrolled her in ballet. She loves it. We even have a little dance studio, with mirrors, a bar and a sound system for her to practice with.

"Yeah, why?" Rose added.

Rose was a mini me. She had dark, wavy brown hair and chocolate eyes. She was the perfect picture of me at that age. She also has my brains. She loved me reading stories so much, I taught her how to do it myself. That was a little over a year ago. She also has my singing voice but is too shy to show it.

"' 'Cause it's gross." Zac finished.

Zac, what can I say. He is Troy. It's a wonder I don't get confused. Both with brown-blond hair, startling blue eyes and an adoration and talent for basketball. Troy had him playing it ever since he could walk. He spends most of his time in the court in our yard, shooting with Troy on the lowered net. He did not miss the singing gene either.

I giggled. This happens every time we kiss in front of them. I still don't understand why they continue asking. They get the same answer every time.

"Because I love your mother." Troy replied. "One day you'll be kissing too."

"Now way Daddy. Kissing is gross." Lily and Rose replied in disgust.

"Good." I heard Troy mumble under his breath. I giggled at him. Troy was not going to be happy in a few years when the girls started liking boys. When that time came we were going to have to have a discussion about the dating. Troy looked at me and just smiled. I smiled back.

"I don't know. Girls are cool." Zac replied. Oh no. Zac was already starting with the girls. I blame that on Troy. I don't want my babies dating for a while yet. I rolled my eyes and sat down at the table, placing two more plates on the table for Troy and I. The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence.

As everyone was leaving the kitchen, I called for them to wait.

"Today, we're going shopping for school supplies and clothes. We will be leaving in about one hour to go to the mall and I want everyone ready to go by then, okay?"

Yes's were heard as Rose and Zac scampered quickly out of the kitchen to get ready. Lily stayed behind.

"What's wrong sweetie?" I asked, walking over to her.

"Why can't I go to school too?" This had been frequently asked question since I told Rose and Zac that they would be starting kindergarten. Lily had been feeling a little sad that she wouldn't have her older siblings at daycare with her.

"Honey," I began, crouching down to her level," you're not old enough to go to school yet. Don't worry, you'll still have lots of fun at daycare without Rose and Zac. You'll still have Sara, Allison, Emma and Hannah to play with."

"I know, it just won't be the same." She replied.

"It'll be okay. I know you'll miss them, but they'll only be gone for half the day anyway."

"Thanks Mama." She said.

"No problem." I replied, giving her a hug. "Now hurry up and get ready to go, we don't want to be late." She turned and ran out of the room and up the stairs. I sighed as I resumed cleaning the table.

"Was that a sigh?" Troy asked, entering the room and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Yes, Lily doesn't want the twins to go to school without her. I just feel bad that she thinks she's being left behind."

"It's fine. Once she gets back with all her friends, she won't even notice they're gone. Plus, I was thinking that as a gift to the family for the start of the school year, we should get a dog. The kids have been begging us and it would be the perfect opportunity. Plus, we need a pet." Troy said.

"That's actually a good idea." I said in mock astonishment.

"Hey, you're not the only one who can have bright ideas. Just for that…" He broke off and started coming towards me, hands out.

"No… Don't you dare… Stop! Stop!" Troy was tickling me like crazy, I could barely breathe. Suddenly, he stopped and kissed me. We kissed for a few minutes and then broke apart, just staring into each other's eyes. It was amazing that even after these years, my knees would still go weak when he smiled at me in that loving way. We became lost in each other's gaze until…

"Dad, will you play with me? I've been working on my free-throw and I want to show you."

"Sure, champ. Go get the ball and wait outside. I'll be out on the court in a few minutes."

He ran out of the kitchen, sliding the door closed behind him. Troy turned back to me with an 'I'm sorry' look on his face. I just smiled back.

"Now don't be too long" I started, slipping out of his arms and wagging my finger playfully at him.

"Yes ma'am!" he replied in mock salute.

"Get out there", I laughed, shoving him out the door. With one last kiss on the lips, he ran to the basketball court.

I stood behind the glass for a minute, watching Troy shoot a perfect shot. It reminded me of high school, when I would watch him play for the Wildcats. I shook myself out of my reverie and headed upstairs to do my makeup and change.

On my way to the bedroom, I stopped into the girls' bedrooms to see how they were doing; Rose was reading one of her easy-read books and Lily was playing with her dolls. About 20 minutes later, Troy came in and showered after his game with Zac.

Forty-five minutes later, we were in the SUV and heading to the mall.

When we arrived at the mall, we parked the car and walked to the food court, where everyone was supposed to meet.

"Hey everybody!" I greeted as our family approached the group. Greetings were extended as the kids split up into their little groups and found a table in the small area. I smiled to myself as I watched them talk with their friends. The rest of the gang and I were sitting at a large table, just behind the kids.

"What are you smiling about?" Troy whispered in my ear, while everyone else continued talking.

"Just about how great it is that all of the gang's children get along so well together." I whispered back. We smiled at each other before turning back to our previous conversations with Jason and Taylor respectively.

While we were talking, I kept shooting glances at Troy out of the corner of my eye. He would do the same. I was hardly paying attention to Taylor so it was a bit of a surprise when she half-yelled, "Gabi!"

"Yeah", I said, a little surprised, turning back to her. She laughed.

"I swear. Sometimes I think you and Troy are still stuck in high school. Sneaking glances at each other again?"

"Don't know what you mean." I said evasively, meeting Troy's eyes again.

"There you go again!" She exclaimed giggling at me.

"What are you talking about?" Sharpay asked, while Heather and Kelsi also turned into our conversation.

"Just how Troy and Gabi are still stuck in high school. She was looking at him out of the corner of her eye the whole time we were talking and probably has not idea what I was even talking about." I blushed at Taylor's response. The girls laughed and I changed the topic.

"So, what do you have left to do for Sara's birthday party tomorrow?" I asked Taylor.

"Well, I have the decorations, loot bags, and prizes but I need to buy her present. I'm going to get that today." She replied.

"Cool. Do you want us to come over early and help you decorate?" Sharpay asked.

"No, I'll be fine, but could you remind Zeke about the cake though?"

"Don't worry, it's already made and in our freezer. Cookie dough ice cream with Barbie figurines on top. I can't wait to taste it!"

The rest of the girls laughed. Sharpay can never wait to eat anything Zeke makes, it's been that way since high school. I stole a glance at Troy, laughing at something Ryan had told him, before turning back to the girls.

Everyone talked for a bit longer and then decided to start on our shopping. We stood up and split up, heading in different directions.

Troy and I held hands as we walked through the stores. At the end of three hours, Zac and Troy were exhausted. Lily and Rose, who had my love of shopping, and I, however, were not tired in the least.

Everyone had gotten new clothes. Rose had purchased six new shirts, three sweaters, five skirts, six pairs of pants, two dresses, a new coat, one pair of sneakers and one pair of shoes. Zac had six new shirts (three were basketball jerseys), four pairs of shorts, five pairs of pants, two new sweaters, a jacket and a pair of red high tops. Lily had five shirts, four sweaters, seven skirts, three dresses, two pairs of pants, a coat, a pair of sneakers and a pair of shoes. I had also bought three new blouses, two skirts, four pairs of dress pants, three pairs of jeans, a blazer, a jacket, a purse and three pairs of shoes. I had also forced Troy to pick out some new clothes. He had gotten a few new button-down shirts, a couple T-shirts, a jacket and a few pairs of jeans. All in all, it was a very productive day.

"Can we go now." Whined Zac.

"We just have one more stop." I told him. He groaned, as did Troy.

"It's not a clothing store, though." I said, winking at Troy. He saw it and caught on to where we were going.

"But mama, we already got our school supplies and backpacks, see." Zac said, holding up his basketball-covered bag. "What else is there to get?"

"It's a surprise," Troy told them. The kids exchanged curious glances as we rounded the corner and stepped into the pet shop.

"Today, we're buying a dog."

Cries of joy and thanks rang out from the kids as they ran to look at the puppies. I smiled at Troy and we followed.

"Look at this one!" Rose exclaimed. "Isn't she cute?" She was looking at a black miniature poodle. I nodded in response.

"That's a girly dog," Zac said with a disgusted look on his face. I giggled at his reaction.

"I want that one." He said, pointing at the boxer.

"Umm" I stalled.

"How about this one?" Lily asked, breaking up the argument that had started between the twins about the dogs. Everyone walked over to where Lily was standing, pointing to the little chocolate retriever puppy in the cage. The kids, Troy and I agreed that this was the best choice.

I walked over to the counter and told the woman there which puppy we wanted. She walked over to the cage and took her out.

"So, I need a name." The clerk said. I looked at the kids beside me, who were discussing it.

"Belle, mama, like in Beauty and the Beast." Rose replied, looking up at me.

"Belle it is." I told the lady, who handed me the adoption forms to fill out. I filled them out while Troy and the kids picked out everything we needed for Belle, like food, toys and a collar. Once the tag was engraved, we slipped the collar on Belle's neck and paid for everything before leaving the store, our new puppy in my arms.

This was a great thing to do, I thought. We got into the car and drove home.

After supper, the kids played with Belle in the backyard as Troy and I sat on the patio, next to the fire pit. At 7:30pm, Lily want to bed and half an hour later, Rose and Zac followed. Troy and I spent some time alone outside before heading up to the master bedroom and falling asleep in each other's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Sorry for the long Update but I'm probably only going to be able to update once a week because I have so much going on. I haven't gotten any new reviews so if I don't get any, then I'm going to stop writing.

Chapter 2 I awoke the next morning to a knock on our bedroom door. Troy groaned beside me as I grabbed my robe, to put over my gown, on the way to the door. I opened it to see the kids standing there, fully dressed, and looking excited. "Mama!" Zac exclaimed, right away. "Can we take Belle for a walk this morning before the party? Pleeeese!" Rose and Lily joined him on the last part. I looked at Troy, who had come up behind me and was now snaking his arms around my waist. He nodded at me and I looked back down at the kids, who were now staring at me expectantly. "Okay, sure, after breakfast. We'll walk to the park and back. You have to be ready for breakfast in 30 minutes." Zac looked like he was about to say that they were already ready but I cut him off before he had a chance to respond. "That means beds made, rooms cleaned, clothes in the laundry room and the present is by the door ready to go when we come back." I had barely finished my sentence before the three turned and ran off. I grinned into Troy's lips as he placed them on mine. When we broke apart, I headed back into the room, Troy coming in behind me and closing the door so we could get ready to go. I came downstairs after getting ready for the day to find Troy and the kids sitting at the table munching on toast and cereal. There was already a plate of toast set at my place at the table so, I sat down and began to eat. "Ready to go?" I asked, after everyone had put his or her plates in the dishwasher. "Yeah!" I took the leash off the hook by the door and fastened it to Belle's sky blue collar as everyone grabbed a sweater. Troy helped me into my jacket and we stepped out into the crisp fall morning, heading towards the park. Getting this dog was truly a wonderful idea, I thought, walking down the street, hand in hand with Troy, the kids walking beside the dog, a little ahead of us. It was a great way for the family to just relax, have some fun and spend some more time together. We had a great time on our walk, playing a small game of fetch with Belle once we arrived at the park. It was a nice way to relax before the school year started. At 11:30, an hour and a half after we had left the house, we walked in the front door. The kids all ran upstairs to change their clothes for the birthday party as Troy and I hung up our coats and put some food in Belle's dish. Then we headed to our bedroom to get ready ourselves. "You look beautiful." Troy commented in awe as I came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, wearing a dark blue, spaghetti strapped, knee length dress. I laughed at his stunned expression and spun around, ending in a pose, to show it off. He smiled at me before walking over to where I was standing and capturing me in a passionate kiss. As we broke apart, I looked him up and down. He must have noticed, for he spread his arms wide and also turned, showing off his dark wash jeans and new dark blue button-up shirt. I giggled at him and was about to lean in for another kiss when, the door banged open and Rose and Zac marched in; I suppose Lily was still getting ready. "What's so funny?" Zac asked. "And were you two about to kiss again?" Rose questioned, seeing our position. Troy kissed me lightly, much to the twins' displeasure, before answering both the questions. "I am and yes, is there anything wrong with that?" Rose rolled her eyes at her father. Troy told me that that was exactly what I looked like when I did that. "What those eyes young lady." I warned. "Sorry Mama." I looked at the time as the kids left the room. It was 12:15 PM. Just enough time to get to Taylor's before the party started at 12:30. "Let's go!" I called down the hall. Everyone came out of their rooms and headed for the stairs. We arrived at Taylor's five minutes before the party was set to start. We walked up to the door and rang the bell. Taylor answered. "Come in. The kids are in the living room with the guys." We stepped into the spacious porch, taking off our shoes. The kids raced off into the living room to see their friends and Troy and I followed. Taylor and Chad's home was about the same as Troy's and mine. There was a library and office, a pool and deck, a basketball court as well as all the basics, like a living room, kitchen, basement, den, etc. The only difference was that this house had less bedrooms and bathrooms. 

"Lily!" Sara exclaimed, racing over to embrace her best friend, while Zac ran over to the boys. Allison, Emma and Hannah were close behind her. The five were the best of friends, sharing many interests. They waltzed over to the corner of the room and sat around a plastic table, set with a tea set, and started giggling about something or other. Lily also walked over to her friends, book in hand. Alice and Nancy were already reading quietly and stopped to greet her. In a matter of moments, they were showing the books to each other and swapping stories.

I told Troy that I was going to the kitchen to talk to the girls. He nodded and kissed me before I walked towards the door. As I was about to leave the room, Zac stopped me.

"Mom, can I go out on the court with the other guys? Please."

"Sure go ahead."

"Thanks," was the hurried reply as he ran off with James and Warren. Those three loved basketball. If they continued this way, I thought with a smile, they would be the basketball stars of East High. I took one last glance at Troy before going out into the kitchen to join the girls.

For the next two hours, the kids played board games, watched TV and played basketball. Then, we served them pizza and next the cake. Zeke had outdone himself once again. The cake was marvelous, almost to good to eat, although Sharpay almost ate the cake herself while Taylor was putting the candles on.

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Sara. Happy Birthday to yooou!" We all sang. Sara made a wish and blew out the candles. Taylor the brought the cake from the dinning room to the kitchen where she cut the cake, and then I passed it out.

"This is great Zeke!" I told him, taking a bite of Troy's piece of cake. Everyone agreed.

"I helped him, didn't I daddy?" Allison exclaimed.

"Yes you did." Zeke replied.

"Well," I told her, "you did an excellent job." She smiled up at me, happy to hear she was great at the thing she loved.

"That's my girl! She'll me a cook, just like her daddy. She'll bring me cookies and cakes when I'm older and Zeke can't make them anymore!" Sharpay exclaimed. Everyone laughed and Zeke gave Sharpay a kiss.

After cake, Sara opened her presents. Her family gave her several dolls and books for Taylor to read to her. Although Sara loved to dance, sing and act, like Lily, she liked books as well. We gave her a Cinderella costume. This was to go with her friends' other princess costumes. Kelsi and Jason gave her a Barbie, Sharpay and Zeke a new ballet suit. Lastly, Ryan and Heather gave her a ballet Barbie movie. We stayed a while longer while Lily and her friends watched the movie, the boys played basketball, and Rose and her friends played hide and go seek outside, then we went home.

Once we got home, the family played a game of basketball, Lily, Rose and I against Troy and Zac. My team won but Zac was saying it was only because of the 'distraction' I caused. This was when Troy had the ball, I would run up to him and give him a wink or a small kiss that would cause him to lose his senses for a moment so I could take the ball. I had been doing this since high school but Troy still hadn't gotten used to it.

"You made a mistake when you taught me how to play basketball, Troy. You'll never win unless we're on the same team. You're not the basketball player I thought you were." I taunted him, after the game was over. We were sitting in the kitchen while the kids were getting cleaned up for supper.

" Hey, it's not my fault that you're so amazing. Take that Back!" He ordered playfully.

"No!" I defied, sticking out my tongue at him.

"Don't you stick that tongue at me, young lady. You'll have to pay for that one." He answered, rising from his chair and slowly walking over to where I was perched on the counter.

'Oh, no' I thought to myself. I tried to get away but as soon as I prepared to jump off the counter top, Troy had reached my sides with his hands.

"Take it back!"

"No!" I squealed as I squirmed in Troy's tickling grasp.

"Take it back!" Troy warned.

"Fine, fine, I take it back!" I relented, gasping for breath.

" Good. Now say, 'Troy is the best basketball player in the whole entire universe!'"

"Never!" I screeched, and the tickling increased. What neither Troy nor I noticed was at that very moment, the kids, having heard me laughing, had come downstairs and were standing in the doorway, watching the scene unfold with fists in their mouths to stop the giggling. Troy and I didn't see them, nor could we hear them over my squeals of laughter.

"Say it!" Troy demanded again after a few more seconds.

"Okay, okay." I breathed. " Troy is the best basketball player in the whole entire universe!" The tickling stopped immediately. 0nly as I was catching my breath did I hear the laughter from the doorway. Troy and I looked over to see our three children rolling on the floor in laughter after seeing their parents acting the way they did. Troy and I laughed at the sight of them. A few minutes later, the food was ready and we all sat down to homemade macaroni and cheese.

After dinner, the whole family sat down in the family room to watch one of my favorite movies, 'Aladdin', before the kids went to bed.

A few minutes after tucking them in, Troy and I lay down on our bed.

"I love that movie. Whenever I see the part where they're singing 'A Whole New World', I always think of our wedding. Thank-you for picking it for us to sing."

"No problem, Gabi. I love you." Said Troy, kissing me passionately.

"I love you too." I managed to get out before we kissed again. I got up and locked the door before laying back into bed with Troy, leaning into him again.

**Thanks for reading. Please review.**


	4. Author's note

**Author's Note**

Since I haven't gotten any reviews for my chapters, I can only assume that no one is reading. So with that, I'm going to stop posting. I'll check my reviews once a week to see if I have any new ones and if I do, then I'll update, but not before. So if you want me to continue the story, please review! I have a chapter written in a notebook to type up so I can post. It's a date with Troy and Gabi. Please review!


	5. Chapter 4

AN: Thanks for the reviews! I'll continue with the story, updating about once a week. So here's the story.

Chapter 4 

It was the following Friday morning and I was sitting in my office, writing lesson plans for the school year. I found it helpful to start this early in the year so I didn't have to take so much time to do it during the school year. I had until the end of October all planed out. It was just after 11am and the kids were all outside playing. As I put down the cup of coffee I was sipping, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" The door slowly opened and Troy's head popped in.

"May I interrupt?" He asked.

"I don't see why not." He entered completely and closed the door behind him, taking a seat on the couch next to the fireplace. He padded the seat next to him but I plopped down on his lap instead.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I questioned, slightly worried. It must have shown on my face, or maybe Troy just knows me too well, for Troy grinned and laughed saying, "It's nothing bad."

"Good. Now what is it?"

"We're going out tonight, just the two of us. I feel like we never get out alone anymore so I planned this date, just for us."

"That's what happens when you have kids." I laughed. "But where are we going and who will watch?"

"It's a surprise and Mom and Dad said they would come over. They wanted to spend some time with their grandchildren and this is the perfect opportunity."

"Ooh, a surprise! And what would one wear on this surprise date?" I asked excitedly.

"It's all taken care of. Your outfit will be in our bedroom at 5:00pm, so don't go into the bedroom until then, I'll get anything you might need." Troy explained to me, smiling.

"Can't wait!" I responded, giving him a kiss. We kissed for a few minutes before I regretfully pulled away. I went back to my desk and continued with my lesson plans and Troy went back out into the yard to play with the kids, who were relishing the last bit of summer sun before school started.

At five o'clock, I closed the door to the office and ascended the stairs towards our bedroom. On the door, was a note.

_My Princess,_

_Tonight we will be spending a wonderful evening alone. Before the date begins, you need to relax. In the bathroom off our room awaits a hot bath, candles, music some wine and a new dress. Enjoy! But remember, be ready to go at 7:00 when I will come to you and the real surprise will begin._

_Love always,_

_Troy_

I grinned, Troy was so romantic. He could make me feel like the most important girl in the world. 'What did I ever do to deserve him?'

Walking inside, cinnamon and vanilla scents filled my nose; they were my favorite scents. Turning to the door of the bathroom, my eyes fell upon a steamy bath with a of red wine sitting on the counter, next to a stereo. Taking off the robe I had changed into, I slipped into the tub, turning on the music.

After my hour-long bath, I re-entered the bedroom looking for my dress. There was a clothing bag on the bed with a note on top that had not been there before. I walked over to the bed and picked up the note.

_My Juliet,_

_I hope you enjoyed your bath. Here is your dress for this evening. I went shopping myself…_My eyes went wide_… but don't worry. I got Taylor's approval. _'Thank god'_ I hope you liked the song choice, they were your favorite songs in high school. Anyway, I'll be waiting for you outside at the door at 7:00pm. Have fun getting ready!_

_Your Romeo,_

_Troy_

I laughed at the note. He knows me too well. The notes were special and I kept all of them. Troy does the big, elaborate date thing three times a year, just before school starts, our anniversary, and my birthday. It's the same but different. Next, I turned to the bag and gasped as I opened it.

Inside was a midnight blue, halter, and floor-length dress. It was beautiful. It had a low V-neck and a silver see-through shawl to go over my shoulders. There was also a flower pattern in diamonds on the bottom. Picking the dress up out of the bag, I noticed a pair of silver healed sandals sitting on the bed by the bag. They were a perfect match to the shawl. Troy had really outdone himself this time.

I dried my hair then slipped on the dress. I decided to leave my hair down in curls and I put a little makeup on. Noticing that it was 6:55, I grabbed my silver purse, to go with the outfit, and picked up the sandals, heading towards the door.

I opened it and Troy was standing there, back on. I put my hand on his shoulder and he turned, mouth coming open. I giggled at his expression while sizing him up. He had on a pair of dark wash jeans, a button-up shirt to match my dress and a dark brown jacket. My giggle seemed to bring him back to his senses because he closed his mouth and grinned that boyish grin of his. I gave him a big smile as he grabbed my hand, leading me down the stairs.

"You look amazingly beautiful," he whispered as we descended the stairs.

"It's not hard when you're wearing the most amazing dress in the world." I whispered back.

We hugged and kissed the kids and said good-bye to Troy's parents before leaving.

We walked outside, hand in hand, to the car. Troy opened the door for me before getting in himself. He started the car but kept it on park. I looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Put this on first." He said in response to the unspoken question, handing me a blindfold. 'This has to be something good', I thought, tying the blindfold around my eyes. It was all black when the car started. Troy held my hand the whole time while we were driving. I drove him mad with 'Are we there yet?' and 'What's the surprise?' questions for most of the trip. At long last, the car stopped.

I heard Troy's door open and close before mine opened and a hand guided me out.

"Where are we?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. I was right. Troy only laughed at my curiosity. He took my hands in his and led me forward on grass? Soon, we stopped.

"Take off the blindfold." I reached up and tugged at the loose knot I had tied around my head. The blindfold slipped off my head and onto the ground, as I stood, frozen, in amazement at the sight before me.

There was a little grove of trees in a park not far from our house where we always walk with the kids. This is, I assume, we were now. The trees were strung with white lights that lit up the table placed in the center. The table itself was breathtaking, a white tablecloth with a dinner of fresh salmon, potatoes, salad and fresh corn and a big chocolate fudge cake in the center, surrounded by candles. Tears began to form in my eyes I looked on, thinking of how mach work he put into this date, all for me.

" It must be pretty good if you're crying." Troy observed, giving me a small kiss and taking my hand, wiping the tears away. This was true. He made me cry every time he did something like this.

"It's… wonderful." I breathed. "How… When…" All these questions were forming in my mind.

"Well, Chad and Jason set this up and Zeke made the cake. I cooked the meal myself."

"Thank-you." I replied, leaning across the table to capture him in a kiss. "I don't deserve you."

"Of course you do, and more. I'd give you the moon and the stars if I could. You are worth far more to me than you could possibly imagine." He responded seriously. By now, I was crying again.

"Please don't cry. Even when they're happy tears, it seems like you're sad and it makes me sad to think you are. Come on, the food can't be that bad." I giggled at him. Troy always could make me laugh. We enjoyed an excellent dinner.

"I can't eat another bite!" I exclaimed, once our plated were cleaned.

"In that case", Troy started, rising from his chair and offering me his hand, "would you care to dance?" I accepted his hand as he used his other to take a remote out of his pocket. He turned on a stereo that was nestled in the trees. I closed my eyes as we began to sway to 'You and Me' by Lighthouse.

"I love you", I whispered, continuing to dance, my head resting on Troy's chest. Troy whispered it back.

How long we danced? I wouldn't have been able to tell you. We alternated between fast and slow songs also taking breaks to rest and kiss and simply enjoying the time alone.

It was 2:30am by the time we returned home. After wishing Troy's parents good night, Troy and I climbed the stairs to bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.


	6. Chapter 5

AN: Sorry about the long space between updates but I had a lot going on. Thanks for the reviews. Here's the next chapter. Hope you like it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the High school Musical.**

Chapter 5 

"Bye!" I called from the front porch. It was the seventh of September and the first day of school. Rose and Zac were starting in the afternoon so Troy and I were going to bring them in during my free period after lunch.

"See you for lunch." Troy said, giving me a kiss as I turned towards the door.

"Bye Mom!" The kids cried and I turned around to give them hugs. I waved and closed the door behind me, walked to my red Honda, got in and pulled out of the driveway. Soon, I pulled into the familiar parking lot of East High.

Walking into the building, I headed towards the teacher's lounge to meet and chat with the girls before class. I said hello to a few returning students before entering the room.

"Hey!" I said, closing the door behind me and walking towards the sitting area around the fireplace where the girls were sitting.

"Hey", everyone replied.

"So", I said, sitting down and shrugging off my coat, "we're still meeting in front of the primary school this afternoon, right?" There were nods all around.

"Warren is so excited. He can't wait!" Sharpay said.

"I know." Heather said. "Nancy really wants to show the teacher how she can read! I even caught her rehearsing what she was going to say to the teacher and to her new classmates!" We all giggled.

"Ryan did the same thing when we were little!" Sharpay choked out through the laughter. At that comment, we collapsed into an even bigger fit of giggles. After we had recovered from our five-minute giggle fit, we continued to talk about our families and other things as in previous years. Ten minutes before class started, we left to head to our respective homerooms.

I walked down the hall to my regular classroom, room 225. I entered the class just as the warning bell rang and the students began to file in. I laid my briefcase behind my desk and walked around to the front before leaning up against it and facing the students.

"Good morning class. My name is Mrs. Bolton… and yes that is as in Mrs. Troy Bolton." I had a freshmen homeroom and some of them raised their hands to question me. Word always got around that the wives of basketball stars taught at the school so I was used to being asked. The shock wore off after a little while. "I will be your science and homeroom teacher for the rest of the year. Now, I'm going to take attendance." I called the names and tried to match the name with a face. I usually only took me a few days to get the names straight. The bell rang and the class left while I took out my plan book for the next class. Fortunately, I knew this class. It was my sophomore class from last year.

"Hey Mrs. B. How was your summer?" That was Brian, the jokester of the class. He reminded me a lot of Chad actually, he was also on the basketball team.

" It was good." I replied. I spent the rest of the period catching up with the class. Too soon the bell rang and they all pilled out saying bye along the way.

"Freshmen" Was my first thought when I saw the next class.

" Hello class. I'm Mrs. Botlon and yes; I'm Mrs. Troy Bolton." I said, repeating myself from this morning. "We have some basketball fans I see." I continued because some of the guys faces lit up at the mention of Troy. " I always start off the year with an introductory class. You can ask me a question and in return I ask you one. This way, we can learn a bit about each other."

"How old are you." A boy asked. The class laughed as the girl next to him smacked him on the back of the head.

"_You're not supposed to ask a woman her age! Moron._" The girl whispered. 'I'll have to ask Tay if she has them. They act like her and Chad.' I thought as the boy rubbed his head. I looked at the register to see who they were, Carmen and Michael.

"She's right you know." I said as they both blushed. Obviously I was not supposed to hear that. "However, I'm the same age as Troy, we were high school sweethearts." Some of the girls' hands went down as they awed. "If you don't know his age, you're out of luck." The rest of the class went much the same as well as my next one. When the lunch bell rang, I left the school and headed home to Troy and the kids.

"Hey everyone!" I exclaimed, walking into the kitchen, 15 minute later.

"Hey, Honey. How was your morning?" Troy asked as he came over to take my bag.

"Good. It's great to see some old faces. The new ones want autographs." I said with a laugh.

"I'll give them to you tomorrow." Troy joked.

" So, how was your morning?"

"Good. Rose and Zac got their bags packed and clothes picked out for this afternoon. Everybody's outside now. I have some nuggets and fries in for lunch."

"Yum, my favorite!" I laughed. Troy leaned over to give me a kiss. I happily accepted and them went to take lunch out of the oven while Troy put my bag upstairs and went to call the kids.

After lunch, Zac and Rose dressed in new clothes and I checked the bags to make sure all the supplies was there and then, we pilled into the car.

We went to the preschool first and dropped Lily off with the other kids before heading to primary school. Pulling into the parking lot, I spotted the gang standing by the door, kids in tow. We parked the car and came over to them.

"You guys ready to go in?" I asked. There were nods and we opened the doors to East Primary, our children racing in before us.

"What class are they in again?" Troy asked, holding my hand as we walked the hall behind Rose and Zac. I rolled my eyes.

"Room 101, Mrs. Stuart. I've been saying that for the past three weeks!"

"Don't get me started on forgetfulness, Gabi." Taylor said. "Chad forgot what today was! I had to come home and run around the house, finding everything! I barely had time to eat my sandwich before I left the house! At least James remembered to pick out some nice clothes. Chad's hopeless!" She rolled her eyes. I sighed. Chad was always forgetting things like that. I could only hope that he never forgets a birthday or anniversary. Taylor would have a fit! By this time we had reached the classroom.

"Hi, I'm Mrs. Stuart. I'll be your teacher for the year." The teacher had bent down next to the kids. They introduced themselves to her and then went to play with the others in their class.

"I'm Miley." She said to us when the kids left, extending her hand. We all shook it, introducing ourselves as we went.

"A big crowd you've got here. It seems like you know each other well. At least you're kids do." She said, gesturing over to where they had been talking together.

"Yeah, we've been best friends since sophomore year in high school… been couples ever since then now that I think about it." Chad said with a thoughtful expression. Taylor rolled her eyes and hit him on the arm. We all laughed.

"I'm new in town. I used to live in California but I moved a few weeks ago. My son, Will, is over there. She pointed to a boy with dark brown hair and eyes. He was thin yet looked athletic.

"Hey, why don't you and your family come down to my restaurant for supper. We're all going down to celebrate the first day of school and it'd be great for you to come." Ryan said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I couldn't impose…" But Heather cut her off.

"You wouldn't be imposing. And, we could use another member in this crazy group."

"If your sure." Miley replied smiling.

"Great. 5:30 at the Wildcat Restaurant."

"Wow, you own that place! I love it there! My family went there our first night here and the food was amazing, especially the cheese cake."

"Thanks. We'll see you tonight!" We all said good-bye and left.

"Mom, Dad!" Rose and Zac came running into the house after the bus had dropped them off that afternoon. I was home because their school ends half an hour after mine.

"How was the rest of your day?" I asked as they came into the kitchen.

"Great! The teacher was really nice! She read us a story and we played with all these toys and I met this guy, Will, and he loves basketball!" Zac said really fast.

"Yeah! And all the other kids are awesome and there are tons of books to read! And mom, can you teach me math? We're going to start addition and subtraction in a few months but I don't want to wait!" Rose exclaimed, equally as fast. I laughed at there enthusiasm.

"I'm glad you made friends with Will, Zac, because he's going to be at the party tonight. And Rose, we'll talk about getting you started in math later. I said to them.

"Lily haw was your day?" I asked her. Her bus from the daycare comes a bit later than the one from the school.

"Great! I played with my dolls and the daycare is doing a play for the parents! I'm going to try out for a part! I want to be the princess who gets taken by the bad dragon and then gets rescued by the handsome prince when he beats the bad dragon and they live happily ever after!" She said in one breath.

"Sounds great. I hope you get the part!" After that, the kids raced upstairs to put their bags in their rooms. Then, they bolted to the playroom.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Troy asked me a few minutes later while we were sitting in the family room.

"I can think of a few ideas…"

"Not again!" Lily sighed five minutes later, walking into the family room. Troy and I had been making out on the couch and sprung apart so quickly I, who was on top of Troy, nearly fell to the ground. Luckily, Troy caught me at the last second. Troy steadied me before we turned to Lily.

"What do you need?" I asked her like nothing had happened.

"Well, I was wondering if I could invite Sara over?"

"That sounds okay to me. Troy?"

"Sure. Go ahead and call her."

"Thanks mom! Thanks dad!" She yelled, running for the kitchen. Our lips met again when…

"Can you _please _not do that while Sara's her? It's gross!" Lily said, coming back into the room with the phone in her hand. "And mom, Aunt Taylor wants to talk to you." I kissed Troy once more, earning a disgusted look from Lily, before getting off Troy and taking the phone from her hand.

"Hey Tay!"

"Hey Gabs! Sara said that Lily invited her over but I just wanted to know if she cleared it with you first."

"Yeah, I said it was fine. You can drop her off and we'll take her to the restaurant with us."

"Sounds good. I'll see you in a few minutes. Bye!"

Taylor brought Sara over a few minutes later and we talked a bit before she left. The kids played for a couple more hours while Troy and I got ready for what was sure to be an excellent evening. At 5:10, we all pilled into the car and headed for the restaurant.

**AN: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Now I have a question: Who should be Miley's husband? Jake or Oliver? Please answer in a review. The winner will appear with Miley in the next chapter. **


	7. AN

AN: This is not a chapter but I haven't been able to find the time to write. I might be in a stage version of HSM so that will take up a lot of time and School is crazy. I probably won't be updating for a while. Sorry!


	8. Chapter 6

AN: I know I haven't posted a chapter in ages and I'm sorry but I have a lot to do so if I don't post for ages after this, I'm sorry. On with the story!

"Come on Mom! I want to go in here!" It was Saturday, one week before Halloween. The girls and I were at the mall with our daughters, Miley just came along with us for a break from her boys, looking for costumes.

"Okay, Lily. Let's go in!" She grabbed my hand and we all walked into the store. Once entering, I thought that we would definitely find costumes here. The store was two stories and packed with almost every single costume imaginable. Lily, Sara, Allison, Emma, and Hannah all ran for the princess costumes. They had decided to be Disney princesses for Halloween. They had most of what they needed from the costumes they had gotten previously but the girls had grown a bit and the gowns were a bit short.

"Oh, Mama, look at this one!" Lily exclaimed, grabbing a golden dress off the rack; she would be Belle, her favorite princess.

"That's gorgeous, honey! Why don't you go try it on?" And she raced towards the changing rooms, her friends not far behind. The girls and I laughed at their excitement and followed. Soon they emerged from the rooms.

Lily had on the golden dress, a perfect match to the movie. Sara was dressed as Jasmine, her blue Arabian outfit on, but with her stomach covered. Allison was dressed as Aurora, Sleeping Beauty, in a fancy blue gown. Emma, with Kelsi's red hair, had on a mermaid tail, making her Ariel. Finally, Hannah was Cinderella, in a sparkling dress. They all looked adorable in their dresses.

"You all look so cute!" Miley exclaimed, taking a picture of them with her phone.

Lily and her friends were done but now we had Rose, Alice and Nancy to take care of.

These three girls had something else in mind. They had decided to go the Disney route as well, but with a different approach. The girls were going to be Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck and Clarabelle Cow. So we headed back over to the racks. These costumes took slightly longer to find but when each costume was found, the three girls races off to the changing rooms to try on their costumes. They came out with big smiles and I knew they had found the perfect costumes. Rose wore Minnie's traditional red and white dress, yellow shoes and mouse ears. Alice, being Daisy, had on a purple dress, yellow shoes and duck bile. Lastly, Nancy had on a blue frilly dress, cow ears and a bell around her neck. It was perfect.

Miley took several more pictures while Taylor helped Kim pick out a costume. She ended up being a bunny and looking very cute. At long last it was our turn for costumes. The gang had decided, after the girls had chosen their costumes that we should do Disney as well. So this is what we decided:

Troy and I would be Belle and Beast (after he was human again)

Chad and Taylor would be Aladdin and Jasmine

Zeke and Sharpay would be Aurora and Phillip

Jason and Kelsi would be Ariel and Eric

Ryan and Heather would be Cinderella and Prince Charming

Jake and Miley would be Snow White and Prince Charming

All we had to do was find our costumes and try them on, the boys were all getting costumes tomorrow. We found them, along with all the accessories, with no problems and after another half-hour, we were out the door, heading home.

I said good-bye to the girls in the parking lot, got in the car and headed home.

"Honey, we're home!" I yelled as Rose, Lily and I entered the house. The girls giggled at me as Troy came in the back door, followed by Zac.

"Hi", he said, greeting me with a kiss. "How was shopping?"

"It was great, wasn't it girls? We've got everything we need for next week. You're still going out with the guys tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, we're leaving around ten thirty. Can you recommend a shop?" Troy asked as the girls ran upstairs to put away their costumes.

"Yeah, there was this one that Lily saw and it had hundreds of costumes. We bought all ours there. I think it was "The Costume Corner" (made it up) or something like that."

"Thanks for the tip." I gave him one last kiss before going up into my room to hang up my costume before it wrinkled.

After that I made supper and then the family decided to play a game of basketball. Soon after we came in, Lily went to bed and Rose and I curled up on the couch in the library and began to read "The Little Princess". This was something the two of us did every night. Sometimes I would read her chapter books and others she would read me a small story. It was our time alone, something I enjoyed. As promised, I was also beginning to teach Rose math one night a week. It always amazes me how much alike we were. During this time, Zac and Troy would do something as well.

Before I knew it, it was October 30th, the day of our annual Halloween party. This year, it would be held at our home. I spent the whole day decorating, adding to our already decorated home. Troy and I loved holidays and we went all out for them. Our house was like the Haunted Mansion this year, gravestones decorating the yard with fake overgrown plants. The inside was covered in cobwebs and electronic bats were flying around the main floor. We also had paintings of monsters with moving eyes decorating the walls. That was what it had been like for a few weeks but tonight, The house was to be transformed into the Beast's Castle. The decorator came in with a few men and by two o'clock that afternoon; they had packed up and gone.

At five o'clock, I heard the doorbell ring. I was just putting the finishing touches on my outfit. I looked in the mirror, putting on my earrings, replicas of those in the movie. I had everything the same, from my hair to my shoes. Troy also looked exactly like the Beast, he had even gotten a little extension to put on his hair for the ponytail. This party was going to be great, I thought. The kids were at my mom's for the night as they didn't have school tomorrow and this was the grownup party.

Finally, at 5:30pm, Troy poked his head in.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Taking one last look in the mirror I nodded. He offered me his arm and we made our way to the top of the stairs. As we reached the end of the hall, the DJ switched the song. I placed my hand on Troy's as the crowd faced us and we made our way down the carpeted staircase to the melody of "Tale as Old as Time". As we reached the main floor, Troy spun me onto the dance floor and we danced to the song, the other couples joining soon after.

I smiled as we waltz around the floor until the song ended. I clapped along with everyone else. After that song a slew of Disney songs followed, one corresponding with each of the costumes worn by my close circle of friends. Troy and I went to greet our guests after "So This Is Love" came to a close. I walked over to greet some of my other co-workers from the school. Troy and I mingled with the guests, talked with our friends and danced a bit more before dinner was served at 7:30pm.

We made our way to the dinning room and Troy sat at the head of the table, me on his right side. The meal was served, with Halloween twists in every course, and ending with a huge Halloween cake, looking like a graveyard. After dinner, everyone made their way back to the main room where the party continued until 2:00am. When Chad and Taylor had said good-bye, Troy and I took one look at the empty house before crawling upstairs and falling into bed, and drifting off the minute our heads hit the pillows.

Halloween night arrived without a hitch. I set out the candy and helped the kids into their costumes. Zac, and all the other boys, had decided to be basketball players. He had on a jersey, shorts and basketball sneakers. I looked at Troy's picture when he was Zac's age and they could have been twins.

As 7:00pm approached, Chad, Zeke, Jason, Ryan, and Jake showed up at the door along with their kids. They, along with Troy, were taking the kids out, as they have done every year. At 7:00 I waved good-bye as they left. I talked on the phone with the girls and gave out candy until everyone came home 2 hours later. The kids had some candy and went to bed soon after. Troy and I slipped into bed with some popcorn at 10:00pm and popped in a movie. At twelve, we turned off the TV and went to sleep, preparing for the next day.


	9. Chapter 7

AN: Thanks for the reviews and sorry about the last chapter! I know it was short. Well I'm trying to write a lot while I have a bit of time. I also wanted to add that Miley gave up being Hannah Montana after she started college, just wanting a normal life. Anyway, on with the story!

"Happy birthday Mom!" I rolled over in bed and sat up. I looked over at my family sitting on the end of the bed, Troy with a breakfast tray in his hands. He grinned at me and I grinned back.

"Wow! This is a surprise, thank-you." I said, giving Troy a kiss and each child a big hug.

"Eat your breakfast Mom! We all helped make it; I poured the juice, Zac made the toast and Rose and Dad made a HUGE pile of pancakes!" Lily said. I took a bite of the pancakes and the toast and sipped the juice. It was all good and I told them so.

"Thus is great! I'm surprised your dad didn't burn the pancakes." I said looking in the direction of the kids, but glancing at Troy out of the corner of my eye.

"Ha ha, very funny." He replied sarcastically, obviously remembering last year just as well as I did. Let's just say the smoke detector went crazy and leave it at that. Rose crawled over to me.

"That's because I told him when to flip them." She whispered in my ear.

We giggled while glancing at Troy. He didn't seem to know what was so funny. I finished my breakfast with Troy, occasionally feeding one another, while the kids left to go get the presents. Troy would give me mine later that night at dinner.

"Open mine first!" Lily exclaimed, as she raced into the room in front of the twins a few minutes later. I put the tray aside and patted the end of the bed, indicating for the children to sit. The three climbed back up and Lily handed me her present.

"We went shopping with Daddy last week. I hope you like it!" I smiled at her and looked at the hot pink bag in my hands. I took out the paper and then the present. It was a CD that I had been wanting for some time now. Leave it to Lily to go with the music. It was wonderful and I thanked her, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Mine next!" Zac said, as he pushed a blue rapped box into my lap. I smiled and picked it up. Ripping off the paper, I saw it was a sweater, one that I had had my eye on since I saw it in the store last week. I hugged and kissed Zac, saying thank-you, before taking the last package from Rose's outstretched hands.

"What could this be?" I asked her, unwrapping the red paper. In my hand dropped a book. I smiled reading the title, Peter Pan. It was one of my favorites from when I was younger and was one of the books I had never purchased. Rose and I had discussed it last week while reading.

"Thank-you, Rose." I told her, giving her a hug as well.

"Now, everyone has to leave so Mom can get ready!" Troy announced to the kids. They wished me one more 'Happy Birthday' before scampering off the bed and out the door once more.

"Get ready for what?" I asked suspiciously, though I already had a pretty good idea what 'what' was.

"Just get into that bathroom, take a bath an put on a nice outfit." He said, walking out the door. "Oh", he remembered, walking in again, "and be downstairs in 45 minutes."

"Sir, yes sir!" I joked, saluting him. He laughed, rolled his eyes and gave me one last peck before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. I glanced at the clock (12:15pm), jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Forty minutes later, I was dressed in a silver tank top and a black knee-length skirt with my hair falling in loose curls around my back.

I opened the bedroom door and padded my way down the hall and stairs. I knew what was coming but that didn't stop me from jumping when thirty-two voices yelled out,

"SURPRISE!"

"Happy Birthday, Gabriella!" My mom said to me, being the closest to the living room door. I gave her a hug and turned to the rest of the group. Troy's parents were there, as were Taylor, Miley, Sharpay, and the rest of the gang. I greeted them all while Troy made his way to me.

"Were you surprised?" He asked cockily, thinking I had no idea what was going on. I gave him a sly smile and answered.

"Actually, I had an idea that you were planning this. You're not the sneakiest person in the world, Mr. Bolton." Even though I knew about the party, Troy was still smiling, knowing that I loved it anyway.

"Well", he said, "I should have known that I couldn't keep any thing from the Freaky Genius Girl. I guess you're just too smart for me." I smiled at the use of the nickname.

"Well you live and learn, Freaky Callback Boy." I responded as he smiled a captured me in a kiss. We continued until…

"Ahem." We broke apart to the all too familiar interruption.

"Hey, Lover-boy! You can't keep the birthday girl all to yourself! This party has other people at it too that want to talk to the Birthday Girl, and she needs her tongue to talk! Aaand there are small children in the room that do not need to see you two act like this is Seven Minutes in Heaven or something!" Sharpay yelled at us, everyone watching. She was smiling but had a point. I looked up at Troy and giggled before walking over to Sharpay and linking arms with her. We skipped over to the rest of the girls, but not before I turned and blew a kiss in Troy's direction. I heard his laughter as I continued to make my way over to the girls.

"I swear Gabi, you're unbelievable." Miley said to me as I sat on the couch. I just laughed and we began talking.

The party went on with a lunch of my favorites and a HUGE cake with candles all over. I blew them out, making a wish, before cutting the cake and passing it out. Then I opened my presents, getting books, clothes and CDs, among others. The party continued for a while after, everyone laughing, talking and dancing. At 5:30pm, Troy and I were left alone, the kids having gone with various friends to spend the night so Troy and I could have the house to ourselves for the night.

Troy showered as I cleaned a little. A few minutes after I had started, Troy came downstairs.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?" He asked in mock anger.

"Um… Cleaning?"

"Not today, this is your birthday! Birthday Girls do not clean in this house! Now, go upstairs right now!"

"No! This house is a mess and it needs to be cleaned." I stated, turning my back on him. This, I soon realized, was a mistake.

"Stop, Troy, stop!" I begged as I collapsed on the floor, in an effort to escape his tickling hands. Much to my surprise, he stopped. But before I could catch my breath, I was on my way upstairs, flung over Troy's right shoulder. I shrieked with laughter as he flung me on the bed.

"Now, will you please get ready to go? The reservation's in two hours."

"Fine, but you have to leave, I don't want you to see me before I'm all ready."

"Are you sure? He asked, giving me a small kiss, as if hoping that would change my mind.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now get your clothes and get out!" I ordered. Troy went to his closet and grabbed his things, mumbling about getting kicked out of his own bedroom. I leaned in to kiss him one last time before closing the door in his face, laughing to myself.

"Tease!" I heard him scream. That only made me laugh harder.

An hour and a half later, it was 6:30pm and I was ready to go. I was just picking my shoes up out of the closet when Troy yelled from downstairs that it was time to go. I glanced at myself in the mirror at my loose curls and red cocktail dress before opening the door and walking down the stairs to meet my husband.

"You look ravishing." Troy told me, as I entered the living room. I giggled at his word choice.

"Likewise." I replied.

"Ready to go?" He asked as I grabbed my coat off the hook. I nodded, slipping it on and he grabbed my hand, opening the front door. We walked out to face a limousine, parked at the curb.

"Troy, you didn't…"

"It's you birthday, of course I did." He answered. I said nothing else, knowing that it would be pointless to argue. We walked to the car and Troy opened my door before getting in himself. The limousine began to drive as soon as Troy got in so I assumed the driver knew where to take us. Troy and I kissed and talked on the way to the restaurant. The car stopped, we thanked the driver and stepped out of the car. We were at the new restaurant in town, I had heard it was amazing. After the meal, I definitely agreed with the reviews. The steak and salad that Troy and I had was some of the best I had ever tasted. And the chocolate fudge cake was delicious, coming only second to Zeke's. We paid for dinner and decided to take a walk in the park not far from the restaurant. We began walking down the sidewalk along the road to the little park.

"We're soaring, flying. There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach." Troy began to sing. I looked up at him to find him staring at me.

"If we're trying, yeah we're breakin' free." I continued. Soon we were singing at the top of our lungs and I thanked God that we weren't near any houses. When it came time for the spin, Troy grabbed my hand and I twirled along the walkway, not stopping. I just spun and laughed, Troy with me, until I fell on the ground, still giggling. Troy ran over to me with a worried look on his face and helped me up.

"Are you alright?" He asked, he must have thought that the tears in my eyes were ones of pain. I nodded, breathless with laughter.

"I'm fine, I was just laughing." I told him. He looked at me before bursting out laughing at my previous actions. We continued to walk along, hand in hand, until we came to the park. I ran to the swings and sat down.

"Push me!" I told Troy. He came over and began to push, whispering in my ear each time I swung back. This reminded me of high school when we would walk to the park after school a few times a week. This exact thing would happen. I laughed and giggled at some things he said to me, others making me want to cry they were so sweet. Eventually, he stopped and sat on the swing next to me. I took this opportunity to ask a question.

"So… what's my present?" I asked. Troy laughed at the question.

"Well, I guess I could give it to you now." He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a rectangular box, rapped in red paper with a gold bow on top. He handed it to me and I eyed it apprehensively, with good reason. Last year, I was handed a package, not unlike this one, from Troy. I thought it was the necklace from Kay's that I had been hinting at but Troy, being Troy, had decided that it would be funny to trick me. So, I was very excited, opened the box and found a candy necklace in a plastic wrapper. Troy latter told me that the look on my face was priceless. He was laughing his head off at me. We almost go kicked out of the restaurant for goodness sake! He gave me the correct necklace afterwards, apologizing, and I forgave him. But let me tell you, if he tries it again…

"It's not made of candy", he said, seeing my face. I smiled and ripped off the paper and opened the box.

This was most definitely not made of candy. I pulled from the box one of the most beautiful bracelets I had ever seen. It was white gold, embedded with rubies, diamonds, and emeralds. It was perfect.

"Thank-you, Troy. It's beautiful." I managed speechless. He took it gently from my hand and put it on my wrist. He kissed me and I back. It was several minutes before we pulled away. He stood up and offered me his hand, which I accepted. We strolled back to the restaurant, under the starlit skies of New Mexico and entered the waiting limo. Once home, Troy and I spent the rest of the evening alone, without any interruptions.

The following morning, I awoke with a smile one my face. I rolled over to look at Troy, also sporting a grin. We kissed and got up, getting ready to pick up the kids. By 11:00am, we were in the car. An hour later we arrived back home, all three children in tow.

" I want dirty clothes in the hamper and bags put away." I said to the three. They nodded and headed up the stairs to do as they were told.

"I'll make lunch and you can start the laundry." I told Troy, stepping into the kitchen and opening the fridge. He gave me a light kiss before running up the steps to the laundry room. I turned on the oven and popped in some nuggets and fries for the Saturday lunch. Soon, lunch was finished and I called everyone into the living room.

"Okay guys, listen up. Christmas is in two weeks and this house needs to be decorated. So, today and tomorrow we will decorate! How does that sound?" The kids cheered. "Good now, Zac, you go with your dad and help him get the decorations out of the garage. Girls, let's go get some CDs!" The family parted and twenty minutes later, we began to decorate. We started with the entrance, then the kitchen, the rec.-room, the dinning room, the living room, the library, the stairs and, lastly, the family room. We decorated everything, taking the better part of three hours. The only thing left to do inside was the real tree (we had several fake ones spread throughout the house), which we would buy and decorate this evening. I made a lasagna for supper and at 6:00pm, we pilled into the car, heading for the tree lot.

It took us a while but at 7:30pm, we were home with the perfect tree. Troy carried it into the house and put it in the stand while Lily got some water and the twins and I prepared the decorations.

"Mom?" Rose asked.

"Yes, honey?"

"Can I put Belle in the kitchen while we decorate the tree? She might be in the way."

"Good idea Rose. Just make sure she has a toy and food."

"I will. Belle! Come!" The puppy ran to Rose and followed her into the kitchen.

"That girl's already smart, Gabi. Just think about it, we're going to have another genius in the family." Troy commented, walking up behind me. "I agree. Now, where's the stereo?" The rest of the night was spent decorating the tree, Christmas music playing in the background and intermingling with the laughs and conversations of the family. Later that night, everyone dropped into bed, exhausted, preparing for the next day of our Christmas tradition.

The following day, everyone woke up, showered, ate and then, the fun began. It had been tradition in our house since Zac and Rose were three that the guys would go outside to decorate the outside of the house while the girls made cookies. Then, when the cookies were done, the girls would go help the boys. Then, after supper, we would all decorate the gingerbread house. Some may think it sexist that they boys did the physical work while the girls worked in the kitchen but the truth was, neither Zac nor Troy could bake very well and The girls and I had a lot of fun dancing around the kitchen, baking the Christmas goods.

I kissed Troy and he and Zac headed out the door.

"Are you girls ready?" I asked. They ran into the kitchen and I placed one of my favorite Christmas CDs into the stereo. I made simple sandwiches for lunch and brought them out to the boys before I began rolling the shortbread dough. By 5:00pm, cookies, pies and cakes covered every inch of counter space in the kitchen. We had made apple and cherry pie; chocolate chip, gingerbread, sugar, and shortbread cookies; cherry, cheese, and pound cake; and apple tort. I smelt delicious! We cleaned up and then headed outside to help the boys with the reindeer decorations on the lawn. When the pizza I ordered came, we were done and went into the family room with paper plates to eat it. After, the gingerbread house was decorated and I set in on the kitchen table as we put the baked goods in cans and placed them in the freezer. Then, the whole family watched the Grinch and as the credits rolled, climbed up the stairs and into bed.

"Troy, Troy, get up! Everyone's going to be here at 2:00pm, in only 6 hours and we have to get ready for the Christmas Party!" It was December 24th, ten days after my birthday, and Troy and I were hosting the annual Christmas party. The gang and our parents would be here at 2pm and stay until 7pm, when everyone would go home and prepare for Santa.

"Gabi, are you kidding me? It's 8:00 IN THE MORNING!" he exclaimed, rolling over to face me, but I was sitting up in the bed.

"Come ooooooon, Troy. I'm too excited to sleep. Pleeeeease?" I said, giving him the puppy dog pout, which I knew he couldn't resist.

"No, Gabriella, not that. Please, not that… Fine, I'm getting up." He said, rising. I gave him a big kiss and pulled on my robe, flinging the door open and racing down the stairs, into the kitchen to make breakfast. I heard Troy laugh at me as I ran.

"If you're like this on Christmas Eve, what will you do on Christmas Day?" He asked.

"What I do every year." I replied, thinking of me waking up at four o'clock and waiting with Troy in the living room, long before the kids woke up, to open presents. He laughed and set the table as three happy looking kids opened the door to the kitchen. We ate bacon and eggs together as a family before the kids went to the playroom to watch cartoons before they had to dress for the party. Troy and I on the other hand, took the cookies and cake out of the freezer and put the stuffed turkey in the oven, it would be ready at five. I then began to make the other food, salads, potatoes, turnip, carrots, and Yorkshire puddings. At one I left my mom in the kitchen, she had arrived early, and went to get dressed. As was customary, I dressed in a fitted, red dress with white lace and a hat to match, yes I was to dress as Mrs. Claus and I help Santa (Troy would later put on the suit) deliver the Secret Santa presents.

And so the party began, as usual, at two and at three Troy and I gave out the presents everyone, both children and adults. Then, we had the Christmas Karaoke contest. We had two categories, children and adults. You could sing solo or in a pair. We had so much fun! Troy and I sang "Silver Bells" and took first place and Rose and Will sang "Silent night" and also took first place. I glanced at Troy as they sang and knew that our little girl had her first crush. Somehow, I don't think Troy was as happy as I was.

After karaoke it was dinner, ending with a Santa-head shaped cake. After dinner I sat with the girls in the living room.

"Do you all still want to do this?" I asked them.

"Yes! I can't think of a better time or place for this. I still can't get over the fact that it happened to all of us at the same time!" Miley said.

"It's pretty crazy." Kelsi added.

"Well, it's 6:30pm. Let's head to the stage." The six of us stood up and walked to the stage, climbing on. I turned off the music.

"Hey! Listen up!" Sharpay yelled into the microphone. The girls on stage laughed at her.

"Well now that we have everyone's attention", Heather giggled, "we have an announcement to make."

"The"

"Six"

"Of"

"Us"

"Are"

"Amazingly"

"PREGNANT!" We yelled at the same time, much to the shock of everyone in the room.

"Baby?" Kim asked.

"Yes, 'baby'. At least someone understood." Taylor said, folding her arms. The rest of the kids soon came up and hugged their mothers, the fathers still stock-still.

"You know what?" I began, "I knew these guys were slow but to have a two-year-old come to grips with something before them…"

"You're pregnant?" Troy asked, as if hearing my voice had awoken him.

"Yes, honey. I'm pregnant." I said, stepping off the stage. He grinned and ran to me, picking me up and twirling me around.

**AN: Long chapter! I hope you like the twist I put in. I know I put out two quick updates but I probably won't be updating for a while. I also want to know if you want a boy or a girl and for who. Oh, and names. Please review! **


	10. Chapter 8

AN: Thanks to the person who reviewed and to those who read. Please review more! I'm getting a bit of writer's block and I need ideas so if by the end of this chapter you have any, please review and let me know because I'm running out! On with the story…

After Troy had come to the realization, the rest of the guys had followed. After many congratulations, the party continued, most of the talk concerning the next few months. At about 7:30, the cleaning was done and everyone left to get ready for Santa's arrival. We said good-bye, confirming the plans for Christmas dinner at our house.

"Ok everyone." I said once all the guests left, turning to the kids, "Into the living room!" They all turned and ran in the direction of the living room. Troy grabbed my hand and we walked into the room behind them. Once we entered, all three were already on the couch, waiting for me to pick out this year's movie choices. I let go of Troy's hand and headed for the movie cabinet. I scanned the Christmas movie shelf before picking up four that I thought would be great.

"Alright, this year's choices are…" Troy made a drum-roll sound and I laughed, " Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Annabelle's Christmas Wish, or Frosty the Snowman. Time to vote. Hands up for Rudolf." No hands were raised, though I wasn't surprised as they had watched that one on TV just last week. " Santa…No? Annabelle?" All hands shot up, even Troy's. "I guess we have a winner." I smiled, walking over to the DVD player and putting in one of my favorite Christmas movies. I pressed play before walking over to the couch and sitting down next to Troy who put his arms around me. We snuggled up as a family to watch the movie.

At 9:15, the movie was over. I gave Troy a kiss before looking over to the other side of the couch.

"Time to open your present!" I said to the kids.

"Yay!" They said, running over to the tree and picking up the special present that Troy and I gave them each year on Christmas Eve, a pair of pajamas. I sat back down on the couch with Troy, snuggling up to him as the kids came and sat down in front of us.

"Who's going first this year?"

"It's my turn." Said Lily. I nodded to her and she tore the paper off the box. I grinned at her excitement. She ripped the box, trying to open it too quickly, and pulled out a pink nightgown with Belle on the front. Her face lit up with a huge smile.

"Thanks Mama! Thanks Daddy!" She exclaimed, giving us hugs. We smiled back at her, saying your welcome.

"It's my turn next." Rose informed us. Troy nodded at her and she began opening her present.

"Can you _please _hurry? _I_ want to open _my _gift and you're taking forever!" Zac complained as Rose was opening her gift gently, trying not to rip the paper. Though Rose was excited, just like the rest of us, I could tell she was trying to annoy her brother, and I was working. She seemed to have decided that two minutes was enough of waiting though because she suddenly began tearing off the paper even more quickly than her sister did.

"Thanks Mom, thanks Dad. I love them!" She said, holding up her purple nightdress with Minnie Mouse on it. I smiled, Troy and I hugging her as well. She sat back down and Zac asked, "Can I open my now?" I giggled and Troy grinned at our son's impatient behavior.

"Go ahead." Zac ferociously ripped the paper and box before pulling out his basketball covered pajama bottoms.

"Thanks!" He said hugging us as his sisters had.

"Time to put on those pjamas now. Go on upstairs, put them on and come into the kitchen so we can make Santa's snack." Troy said to the kids. They raced out of the door and seconds later I heard the pounding on the stairs. I bent down to pick up the paper.

"I don't think so, Montez. Pregnant wives don't pick up paper." Troy said, grabbing my waist and pulling me back up before bending down to pick up the paper himself. I rolled my eyes, hoping the protectiveness would not be as bad as last time. He gave me a kiss before walking into the kitchen to throw the paper away. I glanced at the door, making sure he was gone before picking up the stockings from the bow by the TV and placing them on the table. Then, I followed him into the kitchen.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas…" I heard Troy sing as I entered the room.

"Let your heart be loved…" I sang. He turned to face me, singing the next line. We continued the song, getting a little audience in the doorway as we sang, though not noticing.

"And have yourself, a very merry Christmas now." We sang the last part together. I smiled up at him, our faces inches apart. He leaned down to capture my lips with his when the audience made a comment.

"Do you have to do that now?" Zac asked, slightly exasperated. I giggled and turned my head as Troy gave a sigh and rested his head against my cheek.

"Come on", I said, letting go of Troy, " let's get the snack ready."

Fifteen minutes later, the cookies and milk were set on the coffee table and the stockings were hung on the mantel of the fireplace. I glanced at the clock; 9:20. Just enough time to read the book.

"To the library!" I ordered. We walked out of the room and into the library. Everyone settled on chairs as I climbed the ladder on the shelf before taking a book. I hopped off and sat down nest to Troy on the loveseat as the twins and Lily gathered around.

"T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house;

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." I continued to read the old story, the only sound being that of my voice.

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

I gazed at Troy before turning to the sleeping kids, lying on the oversized pillows on the floor. I picked up Lily while Troy took Zac and Rose and we ascended the stairs before putting them to bed. I gave Lily a kiss on the head before walking into the other rooms and doing the same to my other children. I met Troy in the hallway a few minutes later.

"Do you want me to go get the presents?" Troy asked me in a whisper.

"Ok, I'll wait downstairs." I went down and sat on the couch. A few minutes later, my husband entered, almost completely blocked by presents. I laughed quietly at him and walked over, taking a present from when his head should be. I giggled and kissed him on the lips before covering his face with the present once more.

"Hey!" Came his muffled retort.

"Do you want some help?" I asked innocently.

"Yes." I took a few presents off the pile and began placing them under the tree. Troy put the others down and copied me. Once we were done, we sat on the couch, sharing the milk and cookies in the glow of the fire. We stayed like that for hours, just thinking and enjoying each other's company. The clock struck midnight and I turned to Troy.

"Merry Christmas, baby."

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart." He said before giving me a kiss. We sat there a while longer before my eyelids began to droop and Troy picked me up bridal-style and carried me into the bedroom. We changed into our own Christmas pajamas, mine a tiny red, lace and silk gown and Troy's simple green and red boxers. We slid into bed, cuddled into each other's arms.

"Merry Christmas, Gabi." I would have replied, but I was sound asleep.

The next day began just as early as the last one. At 6:00, I awoke to giggles sounding in my ears. I opened my eyes to three excited faces.

"Good morning Mama!" Rose greeted.

"Hmm." I responded, still not fully awake. Suddenly, my eyes popped wide open. It was Christmas. I sat up and looked at Troy. As always, he was sleeping like a rock.

"Troy! Troy! Get up! It's Christmas!" Squealed, like a little girl. The kids looked at me in surprise before joining me in trying to get their father out of bed.

"What is it?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"It's Christmas Daddy!" Lily exclaimed.

"Yes, Troy! It's Christmas! Now get your but out bed. We have presents to open!" I squealed again. Troy looked at me and smiled, sitting up.

"Let's go." I bolted out of bed and ran from the room, grabbing my robe as I went. The kids stood for a few seconds, trying to grasp the fact that I was even more excited than they were, before joining my cries of glee and racing down after me, Troy not far behind. I was already sorting the presents before they came downstairs. They helped me and soon, everyone had their own pile of presents sitting in front of the along with a stalking.

Everyone opened their presents at the same time, Troy and I saving the ones for each other until after. The kids all got the things they wanted, including movies, books, dance equipment, toys, clothes and sports merchandise. Troy got some new clothes, CDs and other thinks he's been asking for. I received new clothes, shoes, books and CDs that I was also looking for. All the paper was put into a garbage bag and the kids went upstairs to play with their new toys and put them away.

"Do you want to exchange gifts now?" I asked.

"Sure."

"Who's going first?"

"I will."

"Ok."

"Wait here, I have to go get it." Troy said as he stood up off the couch and jogged out of the room. I sat impatiently as I waited for Troy to come back downstairs. Finally, I heard footsteps in the hall. Troy entered with two boxes in his hands.

"Which one do you want first?" He asked, holding them both out to me, one in each hand.

"That one." I said, pointing to the smaller of the two. He handed it to me and I opened it as he sat back down on the couch. I tore off the paper and opened the jewelry box. Inside was a matching necklace to the bracelet I had gotten for my birthday. The chain was made of white gold and there was a diamond, a ruby, an emerald and another diamond dangling from it in a squiggly line. I was gorgeous.

"Thank-you." I said speechless as he held out the other gift. I gave him a kiss before placing the necklace in the box and taking the other present. I smiled at Troy before taking the paper of this one as well. Tears formed in my eyes as I looked at the book in front of me.

"Are you serious? Is this really it?"

"Yeah, it is." I jumped on him and gave him the biggest kiss ever before breaking it and returning my attention to the object on my lap.

It was an old album, but not just any old album. This was an album that I had made while we were at East High. It contained photos from the musicals, newspaper articles of basketball games, photos from the decathlons, pages ripped out of yearbooks, photos from the summers and so much more. I had been making it during the last month of school as to always remember but a few days before graduation, I had lost it. I was devastated and Troy was the only person who knew I was making it.

"How in the world did you find this?" I asked him.

"Long story. To shorten it, the library was being purged of old books when they came across this hidden behind very outdated encyclopedias. They called here when you weren't home, wondering if you wanted it. I said yes and picked it up. I decided to give it to you for Christmas after I finished it."

"You finished it?"

"Yeah. In the back I put the last pictures you wanted to be in it; the graduation pictures, prom pictures, pages from our grade twelve yearbook, you know, that sort of thing."

"I can't believe you remembered."

"I've never forgotten anything you've ever told me." I looked at him with disbelief, remembering his grades.

"Well, nothing of importance anyway." I laughed and kissed him.

"So, where's my gift?"

"I'm already gone to get it." I left the room, returning in a few minutes with a gift bag.

"Here you go. I hope you like it." I asked nervously, suddenly realizing how stupid my gift now seemed compared to his. He smiled at me before taking the tissue paper out of the bag and Taking out an envelope. He stared at it questioningly, before looking at me with the same expression. I gestured of him to open the envelope. Once he did, his eyes went wide.

"Do you like it?"

"Do I like it? Gabi, this is great!" He said holding up the papers in this hand.

The papers were tickets; tickets to New York. Mid January the year I was pregnant, we went to New York. We had a great time and on the anniversary of the Triple Threat day at East High, we went to a Broadway show. I thought that after five years, it would be great to go again and repeat the experience. Troy obviously felt the same way. He leaned over and gave me a kiss.

"Hey, Mom, Dad!" Zac said, coming into the room with his hands over his eyes. "Can you make breakfast? And can you _please_ stop doing that!" I laughed.

"I'm starting breakfast now." I replied getting up from the couch. "Are all your toys put away?"

"Yeah, except the ones I'm using."

"Alright. I'll call you when it's ready, Ok?"

"Thanks, Mom." He replied, going back up to his room, probably to play with his new train set.

I entered the kitchen with Troy behind me and began making the Christmas breakfast, Santa shaped pancakes, while Troy set the table. After breakfast, I ushered everyone upstairs to put on his or her clothes for Christmas dinner. I took a shower and did my hair before putting on a robe and going down to check on the turkey. Today's was bigger than yesterday as more people were coming over (the usual gang plus everyone's parents). I can only say that I'm glad that Troy and I had such a large dinning room.

Still in my robe, I made sandwiches for lunch (grilled cheese) and called all the kids down. None were yet in their clothes but all had wet hair, having just gotten out of the shower. After we ate, helped the girls into their red and gold dresses and then I fixed their hair. Once they were done, I told them to go watch TV, or read, and be careful of their clothes.

I finally entered my room and prepared myself. I slipped on an emerald green, spaghetti strapped dress, white heels and the match bracelet and necklace from Troy.

"You look beautiful." Someone whispered in my ear. I jumped at the sound. I turned around and saw Troy standing there in a pair of black dress pants, a shirt the color of my dress, a black jacket and black shoes.

"My, my. Doesn't the great Mr. Bolton look handsome?" I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. I leaned up and…

Ding-Dong!

Not even when we're alone can we do anything without being interrupted.

"Why us?" Troy asked, looking skyward. I smiled at him, gave him a peck on the lips, unwrapped my arms from around his neck and went to answer the door, feeling his eyes on my retreating back.

I answered the door and within minutes, the party was in full swing. The kids were running around, playing hide and seek, the parents were catching up and Miley introduced her father and brother Jackson to the group.

At five, we sat down to a huge dinner. There was everything you could possibly imagine to eat, carrots, salad, three kinds of potatoes, spinach, green beans, broccoli and cheese sauce, and so much more. The table was groaning under the weight of the food as everyone dug in. This Christmas dinner was one of my favorites. After the meal, the girls helped me clean up and then all the adults sat down for a few drinks while the kids played around the house. At nine, everyone left to put the kids to bed, wishing 'Merry Christmas' as they did so. When I closed the door behind my Mom, I sank into a chair, exhausted. I took a deep breath and walk upstairs to help Troy, who had started to get the kids ready for bed.

Lily was already asleep when I walked into her room so I kissed her on the forehead before going to say good night to Rose.

"Did you have a good time?" I asked her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, it was great! Alice has this new book, The Secret Garden, and she says that it's really good. And Nancy got this new game, 'Scrabble Junior' that we played. It was so much fun!"

"I'm glad you had fun, darling. Did you like your presents?" She nodded.

"I like my new numbers book and the Black Beauty story looks really great! And Santa gave all these Mickey and Minnie Mouse books! I can't wait to read those!" I smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good night, Rose."

"Good night, Mom!" I turned off her light and closed the door.

"Hey Zac-Attack."

"Hey Mega-Mom." I giggled.

"Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah, the guys were showing me their presents and we played Hide and Go Seek. And I love my presents! There's this new DVD that I have about all these basketball moves and I got a new basketball from Santa! Aaand I got this cool CD."

"That's great Zac! Good night."

"'Night!" I turned off his light and walked out of the room.

I walked down the hall to my room, finding Troy already in bed, watching Charlie Brown's Christmas on TV.

"Hey, Gabi. Do you want to watch this with me?" He asked patting the spot next to him on the bed.

"Sure, just let me get ready." I walked into the closet, put on a gold nightdress and the walked to the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face. Then, I sat in bed next to Troy as he put his arm around my shoulder. I smiled watching the special. I watched this every time it was on TV when I was younger.

When it was over, Troy turned off the TV, and I the light, before covering up in the blankets, snuggling against Troy. He gave me one last kiss, whispered good night, and then closed his eyes. I copied him, quickly falling into a slumber, dreaming of the future.

**AN: Another long chapter! Well I _really_ needs suggestions for the story and the babies so _please, please, please_ review! **


	11. Chapter 9

AN: Sorry the update took so long but they will be far and few between. This story is almost over now and there will probably be only about 2 or 3 chapters left. I might make a sequel if enough people want me to or I might not have the time. One with the story…

**  
**"Happy Valentine's Day, baby," Troy whispered in my ear. I was lying in bed and was awoken by his voice. I smiled as I felt his breath tickle my ear and rolled over to face him.

"Happy Valentine's Day," I whispered back, kissing him on the lips. We held it for a few moments before I took my lips from his and glanced at the clock on the bedside table, 8:06am. I groaned.

"Troooy. It's Saturday! Let me sleep!"

"Sorry, sweatheart, but we have a lot to do today. Taylor and Chad's anniversary party is at 2 and then we have to bring the kids to your mom's and then, come back here and get ready for our date."

"Right." I replied, rolling back over and getting out of bed.

"Wait!" Troy said as I dangled my feet over the side. "I almost forgot, good morning baby," he said, leaning across the bed to kiss my stomach. I giggled at him and pushed his shoulder. He laughed and got up too. I walked over to the closet in my silk nightgown and grabbed my robe, tying it around me.

"Troy! I'm going to make breakfast and check on the kids! Come down when you're done, ok?" I called as I heard the shower turn on. Troy poked his head out of the bathroom doorway and nodded before blowing me a kiss. I blew one back before heading out of the room.

I walked down the hall to the kids' bedrooms. Zac was still asleep but the girls were in Rose's room, playing with her dollhouse.

"Hey, girls," I greeted, walking into the room.

"Hi, mom," they replied, turning from their game.

"What do you girls want for breakfast?" They looked at each other before turning back to me and replying,

"Pancakes." I laughed.

"Well, pancakes it is. Do you girls want to help?"

"No, I think we're just going to stay up her and play," Rose replied.

"Yeah," Lily added.

"Alright, I'll call you down when it's ready." I waved at them and walked out the door. Five minutes later, Troy came down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hey," he said, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me on the cheek as I flipped a pancake. "Umm, looks good. Are the kids up?"

"Well, the girls are but Zac is still asleep. When he gets a girlfriend, she'll have to wake him up every Saturday morning like I used to have to do with you," I giggled, remembering how I used to sneak into his room and give him a kiss to wake him up.

"Hey, you didn't always have to do that. Remember. Every birthday and anniversary and other occasions, I seem to remember it was I who woke you up."

"Ah, yes," I said, adding more batter to the pan, "I remember. Those were wonderful. Waking up to you rapping on my balcony door. Remember when you sang 'So this is Love' from Cinderella to me on our four month anniversary?" I questioned, placing the pancakes on the table and wrapping my arms around his neck as he finished setting the table.

"Ah, yes," he replied, placing his arms around my waist and looking into my eyes. "That was one of my best ideas. That was the perfect way to say 'I love you'." He grinned cheekily.

"And I see your ego has not deflated since that time," I grinned.

"Ha, ha," he said, kissing my lips. "Do you want to get the kids or should I?"

"You," I replied.

"Be back in a minute."

A few minutes later, I heard two shrieks coming from upstairs, mingled with a yell. I shook my head and laughed quietly. Seconds later, Rose and Lily came bolting into the kitchen, shrieking and giggling, closely followed by Troy and Zac who were, seemingly, chasing them.

"Hey! Troy, when I told you to wake everyone up, I did not mean to gang up with Zac and chase the girls around the house!" I said to him, over the noise still coming from the kids, racing around the island.

"Really?" He said, coming to me with his fingers wiggling. "Because that's what I thought you meant."

"No," I said, pointing my finger at him, with a stern look on my face, trying to hold back a smile. "Don't you… TROY!" I shrieked and ran as he tried to tickle me. When Zac and Troy had caught us and tickled us until we begged them to stop, we sat down to breakfast.

"Hurry up everyone!" I called up the stairs. It was now 1:30pm and we were about to leave for the anniversary party. It was going to be held in the ballroom of a local hotel and we had to leave soon if we were going to make it on time.

"We're ready, Mama!" Lily called as she ran downstairs in her purple dress. Rose was right behind her in a red dress, a book in hand, and Zac had on jeans and a blue dress shirt.

"You all look nice," I complemented them.

"And you look beautiful," came a voice from the stairs. I looked up and Troy stood there in a back dress shirt, white tie and jeans. I smiled at him as he gave me a once over and took in my simple black dress and flats. He took my hand and we all pilled into the SUV.

When we arrived at the hotel, everyone was already there. We parked and made our way into the ballroom. Once in, I looked around and saw everyone dancing.

"Hey, Mom? Is it ok if we go over to everyone else?" Zac asked, pulling on the skirt of my dress to get my attention.

"Sure, Zac."

"Thanks, let's go!" He said to Rose and Lily. They took off in the direction of their friends.

"Would you care to dance?" Troy asked, bowing and holding out his hand to me.

"Why thank-you." I said, going into a small curtsy and accepting his hand. He laughed and led me out onto the floor. We danced for awhile, occasionally switching partners with our friends or parents.

At three, everyone sat down for a late lunch of steak, potatoes, salad and carrots. It was excellent. While we were sitting, I glanced over at the kids' table to check on them and what I saw made me smile; Rose was sitting next to Will and they seemed to be giggling about something. I raised my eyebrows and continued eating, thinking to not mention it to Troy, he was very protective of his little girls.

After the meal, cake was served and then the music started again. Taylor came over to me as I was standing up.

"Hey. The girls were going to do a little dancing together for a while. You want to come?"

"Sure. Just let me tell Troy." She nodded and I made my way over to Troy. I told him where I was going and he nodded and gave me a kiss on the head.

"Have fun!" I smiled at him and returned to Taylor.

"Hey, girls," I greeted everyone.

"Hey, Gabi! Ready to have some fun?" Miley said.

"Yeah!" Sharpay responded and we laughed before going out onto the floor. We danced and talked for a few songs before 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight' came on and we went to dance with our husbands. As the song ended, my attention was drawn to the stage, where Ryan was standing with a mike.

"Hey, everyone! I want to thank you all for coming here today on behalf of Taylor and Chad. Also, they wanted a couple of friends to sing something to close the party," by now I was smiling and shaking my head, "so I would like to ask Troy and Gabriella Bolton to come up to the stage at this time. Troy? Gabriella?" I looked at Troy with a look that clearly stated 'we should have seen this coming'. He just smiled, shook his head and chuckle a little before leading me to the stage.

I took the mike from Ryan, mouthing 'I'm going to kill you'. He smiled at me and raised his hands in defense mouthing, 'this wasn't my idea.' I rolled my eyes and turned to face the crowd.

"Well, hello, everyone," Troy began. "We didn't really know that we were supposed to sing until about 30 seconds ago," we both glared at Chad and Taylor, who just continued to smile, "so we don't really know what we're supposed to…" He was cut off by the music starting. I smiled at Troy as the tune began to play. It was another Disney classic, 'Once Upon a Dream'.

I know you, I walked with  
You once upon a dream  
I know you, the gleam in  
Your eyes is so familiar  
A gleam  
Yet I know it's true that  
Visions are seldom all  
They seem  
But if i know you i know  
What you'll do  
You'll love me at once the  
Way you did once  
Upon a dream

But if I know you i know  
What you'll do  
You'll love me at once the  
Way you did once  
Upon a dream

I know you, I walked with  
You once upon a dream  
I know you, the gleam in  
Your eyes is so familiar  
A gleam  
Yet I know it's true that  
Visions are seldom all  
They seem  
But if I know you I know  
What you'll do  
You'll love me at once the  
Way you did once  
Upon a dream

We sang the whole song together and when we finished, it was to thunderous applause. We smiled and thanked the audience before going off the stage. As the party was over, most of the guest were now leaving so it was quite easy for us to find Chad and Taylor, who had quickly dashed from the side of the stage as we finished the song.

"What was that all about?" I questioned as Troy and I caught up with them near the lobby.

"We thought it would be a good idea if you sang at our party?" Chad replied sheepishly as Taylor nodded at his side.

"Well, you could have asked." Troy said.

"We know and we're sorry. We just figured that it would be a good idea." Taylor said.

"I guess that's ok. It did feel great to be singing again. But ask next time, ok?" I asked them. Taylor and Chad nodded and we hugged.

"Well, we have to get home. See you later!" Troy and I joined hands and walked over to the kids. They said good-bye to their friends, giving hugs, before we ushered them back out and into the car.

By the time we got home, it was 4:30pm.

"Alright, everyone. Up into your rooms an pack for Nana's!" Troy said to the kids as we came into the house. They all nodded and ran up the stairs.

"Hey, Gabi. Do you want to sit down for a bit? You look a bit tired." Troy asked me as we walked into the kitchen. "We don't have to go out tonight if you're too tired. We can just order in and stay here tonight by ourselves."

"But you already got reservations and everything." I protested.

"It's fine. I can cancel. I don't care what we do on Valentine's Day as long as you're with me."

"Really?" I asked crying a bit. Stupid hormones.

"Yeah." Troy responded, brushing away my tears with his thumb and giving me a small kiss. "I'll tell you what. You can go upstairs and lie down for a bit. I'll get the kids ready and bring them to your mom's and I'll pick us up a movie and something to eat on the way home. How does that sound?"

"That sounds wonderful," I said, getting up from the chair I was sitting on and kissing him. "I have the best husband ever."

"I know you do," said Troy, holding his head high in the air. I laughed at him and hit his arm.

"I'm going upstairs to say good-night to the kids before you drop them off. I'll see you when you get back?" He nodded and gave me one last kiss before I headed up to our room.

The evening was wonderful. Troy came back about half an hour later with Olive Garden and 'Titanic'. We curled up in bed and ate and watched the movie, occasionally kissing in between. I cried and when the movie was over, we just talked a bit before falling asleep in each other's arms.

**AN: I'm not too sure about this chapter but it was just a filler. The sexes of all the babies will be found out in the next chapter and then I'm going to skip right to the birth. So there will only be about two more chapters. I have ideas for a sequel but I want to do something different before I come back to this one.**


	12. Chapter 10

AN: This is the second last chapter for this story. I might do a sequel later but I want to continue my Harry Potter story first. Thanks to All who reviewed!

"Lily! Hurry, darling, or we'll be late!" It was a Tuesday morning and I was about to drive the kids and myself to school.

"Coming, Mom!" Lily replied as she raced down the stairs and put on her shoes.

"Bye, Troy," I said, giving him a kiss as we both headed out the door. "Have a great practice today."

"I will. I'll pick you up from here right after you get home from school and then we'll go to the doctor's, ok?"

"Sounds like a plan," I replied, getting into the car. I pulled out of the driveway and headed off down the road. Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the East High parking lot, alone. I walked into the teacher's lounge and glanced at the calendar. It read April 3rd. I had a meeting tomorrow that had been forgotten about. Shaking my head, I went to talk to the girls.

"Hey, everyone."

"Hey, Gabi. Look at you with your growing stomach. You're absolutely glowing," Kelsi commented.

"Right back at you." I responded, sitting down on the couch with little difficulty. All of us were now showing, but none more so than Miley and Sharpay whom were to be having twins.

"So does everyone have their appointments today?" Taylor asked. There was a general consent.

"Good, so we're all going to meet at the restaurant later to reveal the sexes of our babies?" Heather added.

"Yeah." It was decided last month that we would all have appointments on the same day and tell each other the sexes of the babies.

"Well, class is about to start. I'll see you all at the restaurant at five." And with that, I rose from the couch and made my way to my classroom.

The day was normal and went fairly quickly. Troy came in to see me during my lunch break and we went out together. After school, I got into my car and drove home.

"Hey, Gabi," Troy greeted as I walked into the house. He came over and took my bag, laying it on the floor, before kissing me.

"Hello to you too. I'll just get a glass of water and then we can go."

"No need," Troy responded and pointed to a glass filled with water on the table in the porch. "You should have to do as little as possible." I smiled at him, picking up the water.

"You're too good to me," I told him, taking a sip from my glass. He offered me his hand and we walked out of the house, locking the door behind us, and out into Troy's car. He opened the door for me and I climb in before he went over to the other side and got in as well. The ride there was filled with the conversation of what we wanted and baby names.

Once we arrived at the office, Troy took my hand again and we walked in. I sat down in the waiting room while Troy checked me in.

"Are you excited?" He asked me, sitting next to me on one of the wooden chairs.

"Very. I can't wait to find out what we're having."

"I feel the same way," Troy responded, squeezing my hand.

"Gabriella Bolton?" The nurse called. I smiled at Troy and we stood up. The nurse led us to a small room where she told me to lie down and said that the doctor would be there soon. We thanked her and she left. A few minutes later, the doctor arrived.

"Hello, Troy, Gabriella," Doctor Evans (**no relation to Ryan and Sharpay**) greeted us. She was our doctor for each pregnancy.

"Hello."

"Would you like to find out what you're having?" she asked. Troy and I nodded eagerly. She turned on the ultra-sound and moved the wand over my stomach. The gel felt cold against my skin.

Troy held my hand as we smiled and watched the picture of our baby on the screen.

"Well, congratulations you two. It's a boy." She said, smiling. Try and I grinned at each other, this was exactly what we wanted. Now we had two of each.

"Do you two want the pictures?"

"Yes, please," Troy responded to her question. She nodded and left for a few minutes before coming back with the pictures.

"By what I can see here, the due date is about the10th of August."

"Thank-you" Troy and I said, before the doctor left again and we got ready to leave.

"I can't wait to tell the kids!" I said once we were in the car.

"Me either. How do you think they'll react?" Troy asked me.

"Well, Zac will be really happy to have another bot in the house. He told me so a few weeks ago. The girls were hopping for a little sister but I don't know how they'll react, save for being a bit disappointed." Troy nodded in agreement. He dropped me home to call our parents and let them know what their new grandchild was going to be while he picked the kids up from daycare.

"Hey, Mom. It's Gabi." I said over the phone.

"Hey, honey. Wait one second. Jack and Mackenzie are here. I'll put you on speaker…"

"Hello, Gabriella!" I heard Troy's parents say over the phone.

"Hello, everyone. Now, as you know Troy and I just went to the doctors-"

"Yes, we know. Now what are you having?" My mother asked impatiently.

"I'm getting to it," I laughed. "We're having… wait for it… a BOY!" They all screamed with delight and Jack said something about having another champion in the family. I laughed as they continued the congratulations. I said good-bye as I heard a car pulling up outside.

"Mom, Mom, Mom!" They kids cried as they ran into the house and crowded around my legs, each firing questions.

"Enough!" I yelled and they became quiet. "School bag upstairs and then into the living room."

When they left, I saw Troy standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face.

"And what are you smirking about?" I questioned.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, ok," I said in disbelieving, before going into the living room.

Once all three kids had settled themselves on the couch, Troy and I stood in front of them.

"In August, the three of you are going to have a little brother." Troy said.

"Yes!" Zac yelled, punching his fist in the air. Rose came over and gave the two of us a hug and Lily joined her.

"Are you sure it's a boy?" Lily asked, looking up at us. "Because I wanted a little sister." I smiled at her.

"Yes, we're sure it's a boy."

"Well, I guess that's ok." She said, deciding that it was a good thing and hugging us again, this time with Zac joining in.

"Hey, Mom?" Rose asked, "Can we help pick out names?"

"Sure," I responded, smiling.

"Cool. I don't know any right now, but I'll tell you if I get one."

"That's good. That goes for the two of you as well." I said, looking at Lily and Zac. "You're dad and I want to hear what you've got to say."

"That's right. Any suggestions, we'd be happy to hear them." Troy added.

"Can we go play now?" Zac asked.

"Sure," I laughed.

At 4:50 pm, we were in the car, going to the restaurant. We got there right on time. Everyone sat down to a nice meal, anxious to find out what everyone else was having. After desert was finished, I stood up, ready to start.

"Well, I guess I'll start first," I said, looking down at Troy. "We're having a boy!" Congratulations went around to us. It went much the same for everyone else. In the end, I found out that Taylor and Chad were having a boy, Sharpay and Zeke we having one of each, Kelsi and Jason were having a girl, Ryan and Heather were having a boy and Miley and Jake were having two girls. Congratulations went around the table and at 7:30, we all went home to put the kids to bed.

**AN: Please review and give me baby names!**


	13. Chapter 11

AN: This is the last chapter of this story. As I previously said, I probably won't do a sequel anytime soon but if I get about… 10 reviews, I might do one later, when I have time in between my other new story. It's called "Harry and Ginny go to the Yule Ball" and in Harry Potter if anyone would like to read it. And now, on with the story…

"Troy?" I asked as we lay in bed. It was the middle of August and a few days away from my due date. All the kids had finished school and Rose and Zac had done very well. Lily was also wonderful in her end-of-the-year play and got a standing ovation from the crowd.

"Hum?" Troy said, rolling over to face me, his eyes still closed. I giggled at him in the dark before whispering into his ear, "My water broke."

At once, Troy's eyes shot open, wide open. He jumped out of bed and ran to the closet. A few seconds later, he emerged, fully clothed and carrying a suitcase, only to find me giggling on the bed.

"What?" he asked, panting slightly from the speed he got ready. I just shook my head and kept laughing, as comprehension dawned on his face.

"Why you little," he began, dropping the suitcase and running back to the bed. He jumped on it and put on a face of mock anger. I laughed even harder. After a few minutes, he just shook his head and laughed too, changing back into pajamas and climbing back into bed.

"Do you have to do that every time?" he asked in a whine, wrapping his arms around me.

"Sorry, honey, but I couldn't resist. You fall for it every time," I giggled. He smiled at me and we snuggled back in bed and fell asleep.

The next few days went by uneventfully. The last finishing touches were put on the train-theme nursery and we met up with the gang, visiting Taylor and Heather in the hospital. They gave birth this week, a day apart and were now in rooms in the hospital. Taylor and Chad now had a baby boy named Michael Harold Danforth and Heather and Ryan had welcomed Brandon Gregory Evans into the world the following day. Before we knew it, it was my due date. My only hope was that he wouldn't be late like Lily.

The day began as usual. I woke up the kids and kissed Troy good-bye as he left for the stadium for a practice. He wanted to stay home but, as he had taken the last few days off, it was this or be knocked off the team. Since Nancy, Luke, Hannah, James, Sara, and Kim were staying with us while the practice was going on and their mothers were in the hospital, I herded everyone out into the backyard. Everything was going fine until…

"Mom, are you ok?" Rose asked, sitting on a lawn chair with Nancy and James, talking. I suddenly felt wet and looked at her.

"Rose? Mommy's having the baby. Can you run inside and get me the phone?" I asked as she jumped off her chair and ran inside. She came back within seconds. I said a quick thank-you before dialing 9-1-1.

"Hello?" said someone on the other line.

"Hello, my water broke and I need an ambulance. The address is #14 Alvendale Ave."

"Thank-you, Miss, someone will be there shortly. Is there anyone with you?" she asked.

"Only my children and those of my friends, my husband is at work."

"How many children are there?"

"Nine."

"Can you get someone to watch them? There isn't enough room in the ambulance for all those children."

"Sure."

"Thank-you and Good-bye."

"Bye." I hung up, turning to Rose, Nancy and James, all who were looking at me fearfully. "I'm fine," I assured them. "James? Can you run over to Mrs. Jones' house and tell her to come over to watch all of you because I have to go to the hospital?" He nodded and took off through the garden gate.

While he was gone, I called Miley.

"Hey, Miley." I said

"Hey, Gabriella. What's up?"

"My water broke," she gasped, "can you call Troy and tell him to get to the hospital as soon as he can? An ambulance is coming to get me in a few minutes and Mrs. Jones is coming to look after the kids for a while. I was also wondering if you could come over later and bring the kids to visit when the baby is born?"

"Sure thing, Gab, no problem. Just tell me which hospital you're going to and I'll get Troy to meet you there."

"Same one as Tay and Heather, St. Joseph's." I replied.

"Alright, bye." She hung up as the garden gate swung open and James ran in, pulling Mrs. Jones by the hand. The 67-year-old lady came over to me on the deck. I smiled at her, thanking the graying woman for coming on such short notice.

"No problem, dear." She smiled, her green eyes crinkling as she did so. Suddenly, I heard the sirens of the ambulance.

"We're back here!" she cried, as the paramedics came in through the gate. They brought me out into the ambulance, the other kids had now come over and found out what was happening. I gave them hugs and smiled as the door to the ambulance closed and I headed to the hospital.

When we arrived, Troy was already waiting outside, an anxious look on his face. He came in the building with us and I was put in a wheelchair and brought to a room.

"How are you?" he asked as the nurse left the room and I was lying in a bed.

"I'm fine. Miley's going to bring the kids by when you call her."

"She told me. I'm sorry I wasn't there," he said, looking at me with pain in his eyes.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault. I told you to go and I'm fine. You didn't miss anything." I told him reassuringly.

"I know." He said as the doctor came into the room to check on how I was doing.

Labor lasted a lot longer this time. Our parents came by and waited in the room with us, some of our friends dropped by to see how we were doing, promising to come back later. Miley even brought the kids by after Troy called her. We figured that they should be here since we might be here a while. Finally, at 7:00pm, after 10 hours of labor, I was ready.

Troy put on his scrubs and followed me into the birth room. He held my hand as I pushed, screaming and panting.

"One more push, Gabriella," the doctor said. I looked at Troy.

"Come on, baby, you can do it." Troy said, smiling at me. I pushed and, as I slumped back on the pillows, I heard a baby cry. I looked at Troy and smiled; our son had been born.

Twenty minutes later, Troy and I were sitting in my room, our baby in my arms. The door opened and our parents walked in along with Zac, Rose, and Lily.

"Hey everyone," I greeted.

"Hi, Mom!" Lily greeted as she and her siblings ran over to the bed.

"Is this him?" Lily asked. I nodded at her.

"What's his name?" Rose asked, looking from the baby to Troy and back.

"Do you want to tell them?" I asked Troy. He nodded and turned to our family.

"His name is Christopher Jacob Bolton." Troy said.

"That's a nice name," my mom said, coming over to us and playing with Chris' hand.

A few weeks later, everyone met up at the restaurant. No longer did all the girls have large stomachs but we had babies in our arms. Sharpay had given birth to Jordan Mathew and Ashley Michelle Baylor two days after me. The next day, Kelsi gave birth to Brooklyn Molly Cross and five days later, Miley had Stella Hope and Amber Allison Ryan. We had a great time at the restaurant, playing with the babies and catching up with all the news.

After a while, we went home. Troy and I put Chris to bed before spending some more time with the other kids, playing in the backyard. I went to bed happy, thinking of the years to come that I got to spend with my family.

**AN: That's the end. I just want to say thank-you to all that reviewed and ask you all to review this last chapter.**


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